Bronies Unite Against Jerry Springer’s Attempt to Humiliate Them

Adrian Chen -Aug 1st 2012-

Bronies, adult internet nerds who love My Little Pony, have reached the crucial stage of any weird subculture's development. They're being cast on the Jerry Springer. Last night Jerry Springer tweeted out the above casting call. Bronies are not happy at the prospect.

It's the latest leg in Bronies' slow march towards the mainstream. This month's Bronycon drew 4,000 mostly male Bronies to Seacaucus New Jersey and attracted the Associated Press, sending news of Bronies across the wire and to millions of probably very confused small town residents. It was only a matter of time before less savory media vultures swooped in. Howard Stern was first, mockinge Bronies on his show a couple weeks ago. Now Jerry Springer wants a couple Bronies of his own.

But soon after the tweet was published, a warning message went out from the Brony "Emergency Broadcasting System," a group based, appropriately, on the computer gaming platform Steam. They'd learned from the Stern episode:

FLIM FLAM ALERT! The Jerry Springer Show is evidently looking for bronies to appear on their broadcast. DON'T FALL FOR IT. They aren't trying to give positive exposure to fans of My Little Pony. They're trying to mock us.

If Jerry Springer, or Howard Stern, or any similar broadcaster contacts you or a friend, asking you to appear on a show about bronies, say NO and don't let them persuade you. They're just out to make us all look bad.

Chances are, I'd rather have one of the normalish bronies take the call so the obnoxious, snobby ponyfags don't get on there. All it takes is one clopper to get on there and we're finished on his show.

Yeah i think you're taking this a little too seriously. I watch the show because i like it, i'm not going to call a Holy Crusade when someone who has made a career out of exploiting relationships, decides to do what he's been doing for about 18-21 years on something i happen to be a part of. I'm not defending Springer, it's just that know one cares until he says something that affects them.

I know i'm in the minority when i say this but; I don't care about any of this. Any brony who appears on his show has done so of their own volition and it is entirely their choice. Why all the hate on people (who you don't even know) who will call into this to appear on this show? For people who talk about love and tolerance all the time this is very hypocritical i think... Watch the show because you like it, not because you like being branded as this or that, that's just falsehood. Remember it is just a cartoon, and this is a fan-group not some pseudo-militaristic group...

One last thing (and i know i will get hate for this), but doesn't that tweet from Tara seem egotistical to you? 'Queen'? Really? Is this really what being a Brony means? Here i thought it meant enjoying the show, but apparently it is way more shallow then that. Honestly, she is really the one belittling the fans here by calling us that. If you enjoy being talked down to like that then are you a fan or some tpye of servant? And if you don't enjoy being talked down to like that then doesn't it seem insulting that she said that? I mean we are just fans of a CARTOON, this isn't some type of militaristic order where we take orders from these people.

So can i just enjoy this a fan group? Or is this going to be some sort of 'internet gang' group with an agenda? Do you remember when cartoons were just cartoons and not some type of political/social statement? Not everything needs to be this radically justified. Enjoy the show, respect others, peace, and if this is honestly the fandom then i will have to leave the 'Brony' community...

I think you're taking this a bit too seriously in the first place Admiral. And stop with the "I know I will get hate for this". You won't. You'll have different opinions clash.

The problem I see with this is how it paints a group. Some Atheists, for instance, would be outraged if something similar happened that painted Atheists bad on a show like this. This is to be EXPECTED. There's no use in threatening us that you're going to leave because a couple bronies are freaking out over some prick ridiculing us.

Let me repeat it: We AREN'T getting worked up over this. We honestly couldn't care less. However, we all have varying opinions of how we think this should go. And let me ask you this: Would you lose respect for someone who ridiculed you for liking something? Would you suddenly want to show them that they are simply misinformed and acting off of assumptions? If yes, then you get our answer.

And about Tara Strong...that's her for you. She's been joked around as the "Queen of the Bronies" before. This is her just playing a joke/acting out her opinion of this Jerry Springer at the same time.

Sorry for another post, but it wouldn't let me edit after 5 minutes...

Basically, we aren't forming a militia, nor are we going to fret about this guy a week from now after this news post. If this happened to any fandom, some people would freak out as if someone is making fun of THEM. This comes from people who take their fandom as if it is a part of them. Bronies have been known to harbor this more often due to many factors I won't go into.

Saying the brony fandom is like a militaristic order is like saying Canada is an empire bent on world domination. The brony communities act more or less like their own country on the internet. It's not an internet gang; it's a huge, diverse group of people who are involved together in some way relating to the show. We all have varying opinions, ways of thinking, and admittance into the fandom. Some are more serious than others while some are more laid back.

Honestly, the real world media demonizes everything that is 'weird'. Shock jockeys like Howard Stern will just give the people more reason to fear change. They play off gullible people's fear of change to keep them fearful.

If people actually took the time to study our fandom, they'd find out we are no different than other fanbases off of other shows. Sonic, Pokemon, and Dragonball Z all had their fandoms and are somewhat still alive today (even with all the new ****** stuff those franchises took on).

Really, in the end, it all comes down to the show's name being a deterrent. "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is bound to put a suspicious smile on your average joe. Some take this opportunity to see what's so good about the show while others will just laugh at it and it's fanbase and move on with their lives. This is why when a brony asks people to watch the show, they really just want them to not condemn them and understand why they like the show. It is an advertisement as much as it is a personal defense.